Showing posts with label Puerto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puerto. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Puerto Rico Part Dos Ponce
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| Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club |
Ponce: We pull in to the Ponce marina for a week. We need to get a few packages, do taxes, do some provisioning and take the cat to the vet. The Captain would like to top batteries, wash the boat, flush & top the water tanks, and do some chores. Besides, their weekly rate is $4.50/ft or $23/day. Can't beat that.
Stats: Total time 3:41, avg speed 4.7 kts, total mileage 17.2 miles. 2-engine motor. Total mileage to date: 2682 nm. Straight line distance from Annapolis: 1360 nm
I had been chatting with the crew of sv Orion about meeting-up while they were at the same marina for some maintenance. When she saw our FB "check in" at the marina, she and her husband found our boat (in their old slip), tracked me back to the laundry, then went back to retrieve The Captain and whisked him off to Walgreens to get the passport photo he needed. Her husband even swapped shirts with The Captain when they told him he couldn't wear stripes. LOL. We finally get to sit down, have some drinks and food, and pick their brains about our route to Culebra, their home port. It's wonderful when your "virtual friends" become real people!
The bicycles are deployed the next morning and we head toward the mall. (After living on a boat for a year, visiting the mall is our idea of a vacation. Fun to visit. Don't want to stay). A 2 mile ride became 4 as we attempt to take the back roads. We hit Sports Authority, PF Changs, Office Max and the grocery store.
Kelly Nicole arrives and anchors out. They dinghy in for drinks and we head to the Malecon at the La Guancha for dinner. There isn't much for the vegetarians and celiac to eat here. It is mostly bar food that is fried or pastry and stuffed with meat. There isn't just one band but four! The crowd at each varies from young to old, dancing or clapping and singing along. They love their music.
San Juan: We haven't stopped to enjoy Puerto Rico like we should. The strong trade winds have kept us moving when possible. The Easter holiday kept us away from the more crowded town anchorages. It's also a bigger island than we realized and we have a lot of ground to cover on the way to the Virgin Islands. However, our side trip to San Juan turned out to be just the ticket. The Captain needed to renew his passport and the First Mate needed to renew her GOES. We were dreading this errand and it started off with the rental car company saying we'd have to take a cab over instead of them picking us up. Then the cab was late. Then the iPhone map tried to send us the wrong direction ("I'm pretty sure San Juan is north of here...")
While driving to San Juan, I don't fully appreciate the mountain views because I'm making phone calls. I do glance up at one point and realize I should be taking pictures. I can't explain it, but I like San Juan. It is a great blend of two cultures. You have your choice between Taco Maker and Subway. More people are willing to speak English here and my Spanglish is in full force without even thinking about it. One cashier at a restaurant even apologizes for greeting me in Spanish. "I was going to try!" "Go ahead." "Diet Coke, por favor." She laughs. We've expanded from ordering food to asking questions, as long as the answer is si, no, or pointing--then we're lost again! They speak faster here than in Luperon.
Everything goes like clockwork. The Captain gets into the downtown passport office early, we have brunch across the street, then off to see if I can get into my appointment at the airport early (after an hour wait, I got in an hour early), then West Marine, back to pick up the Captain's passport, late lunch and back towards Ponce. Perfect--until we almost run out of gas. Damned if we can find a gas station between San Juan and Ponce. "Use your iPhone to find me a gas station." "Are you kidding? This thing doesn't know where Ponce is?!" (We found one. It was a close call.) The day went so well, that The Captain swings by Starbucks on the way back so the First Mate can buy more tea, Sears for a new battery charger, then a quick stop at Pueblo grocery to start reprovisioning (Gluten-free crackers. Phew! Another close call).
The next morning, we run a few more errands before returning the rental car and we get truly lost. None of the map apps work in Ponce. You type in WalMart, you end up at Ikea. You type in Home Depot, you end up at WalMart. You type in McDonalds--well, there's a McDonald's on every corner so that didn't count. Weird.
McDonalds. At least the menu looks familiar but without the familiar meals number's that The Captain is used to. I got this. "Double cheeseburger no pan, McPapas y Cafe fria, no azucar." She didn't understand. She didn't speak English. Someone stepped in to translate. Apparently, I lost her with no bread & no sugar. I didn't get an ice coffee but a frappe with caramel instead. It was yummy.
A few chores:
Look who got more new chain & rode! The Captain added 70 ft of new chain to the 60 ft of chain we purchased in Annapolis (taking off the old section). He also added 100 ft of 5/8 nylon rode. Why? Once we're past the mooring balls in the Virgin Islands, the anchorages are going to start getting deeper, like 20-30 ft! So a 5:1 scope would be 30 x 5 = 150 ft, but we prefer 7:1 so that's 210 ft! That's the kind of math that we usually avoid on Odin. We're a catamaran! Drive it up on the beach ;-) OK, we say that, but we've never done it--yet.
One of the orders that gets screwed up is parts for our main Yamaha engines (rectifier NOT in stock so they were holding the whole order. Boo!). The Captain replaces the starboard stator in hopes of fixing our charging issues. "Not a job for amateurs."
We rent a car for a second day to take the cat to the vet for shots. We drive around for an hour before we finally find it, partly because they moved and neglected to mention it. Friendly locals have us follow them to the wrong vet. We try to call but we are the first appointment of the day. The staff doesn't speak English and the English-speaking Vet is from out of town so she doesn't know where we are. On the way out, they give us written directions to pick up Princess Amelia's prescription. We still got lost... Did I mention the crazy drivers? They swerve out of their lane a lot and pass you on the left AND right when you didn’t go through an intersection fast enough. Four way stops are a test in who is bolder/in more of a hurry. Next time we'll take a cab.
The Captain catches a cold (aka the The Masters is on) so we stay a few extra days aka "waiting for the forecast trade winds to abate."
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| Beautiful sunrises and sunsets all week |
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| Tight fit and no dock hands. Some days we look like we know what we're doing. |
The bicycles are deployed the next morning and we head toward the mall. (After living on a boat for a year, visiting the mall is our idea of a vacation. Fun to visit. Don't want to stay). A 2 mile ride became 4 as we attempt to take the back roads. We hit Sports Authority, PF Changs, Office Max and the grocery store.
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| Bicycles are out! |
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| PF Changs. YUM! |
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| Crank up some J Lo's "Let's Get Loud" and you're where we're at. We can hear the music at the boat. |
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| Not a lot for vegetarians or celiacs |
San Juan: We haven't stopped to enjoy Puerto Rico like we should. The strong trade winds have kept us moving when possible. The Easter holiday kept us away from the more crowded town anchorages. It's also a bigger island than we realized and we have a lot of ground to cover on the way to the Virgin Islands. However, our side trip to San Juan turned out to be just the ticket. The Captain needed to renew his passport and the First Mate needed to renew her GOES. We were dreading this errand and it started off with the rental car company saying we'd have to take a cab over instead of them picking us up. Then the cab was late. Then the iPhone map tried to send us the wrong direction ("I'm pretty sure San Juan is north of here...")
While driving to San Juan, I don't fully appreciate the mountain views because I'm making phone calls. I do glance up at one point and realize I should be taking pictures. I can't explain it, but I like San Juan. It is a great blend of two cultures. You have your choice between Taco Maker and Subway. More people are willing to speak English here and my Spanglish is in full force without even thinking about it. One cashier at a restaurant even apologizes for greeting me in Spanish. "I was going to try!" "Go ahead." "Diet Coke, por favor." She laughs. We've expanded from ordering food to asking questions, as long as the answer is si, no, or pointing--then we're lost again! They speak faster here than in Luperon.
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| A little pilgrimage to the mother ship. Purchase exceeded rewards coupons :-0 |
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| Starbucks. Stocked up on tea and replaced my broken mug. What a treat. |
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| McDonald's. We can do this! |
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| New chain & rope rode |
A few chores:
Look who got more new chain & rode! The Captain added 70 ft of new chain to the 60 ft of chain we purchased in Annapolis (taking off the old section). He also added 100 ft of 5/8 nylon rode. Why? Once we're past the mooring balls in the Virgin Islands, the anchorages are going to start getting deeper, like 20-30 ft! So a 5:1 scope would be 30 x 5 = 150 ft, but we prefer 7:1 so that's 210 ft! That's the kind of math that we usually avoid on Odin. We're a catamaran! Drive it up on the beach ;-) OK, we say that, but we've never done it--yet.
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| Changing the starboard stator |
One of the orders that gets screwed up is parts for our main Yamaha engines (rectifier NOT in stock so they were holding the whole order. Boo!). The Captain replaces the starboard stator in hopes of fixing our charging issues. "Not a job for amateurs."
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| Written directions don't help in Ponce |
The Captain catches a cold (aka the The Masters is on) so we stay a few extra days aka "waiting for the forecast trade winds to abate."
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| The cats of Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club. |
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| They've been fixed and a woman comes to feed them |
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| Whoops. That's not a cat. This pic was for The Captain. "Aren't you going to take a picture of THAT?!" |
Monday, 13 March 2017
Puerto Rico to Brewers Bay St Thomas US Virgin Islands
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| A panorama of beautiful Brewer's Beach |
We're getting ready to move over to the US Virgin Islands in the next weather window. After a week of begging ("Welcome to the Caribbean"), I got a temporary mailbox set up. Let the internet shopping begin! New toys in our future. Stay tuned!
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| Flummoxed. No dew on the hatches this morning.."Do I hear a chicken?" |
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| STT, here we come! Hoping to wrastle up a light breeze... |
After two days of waiting for the water to lay down after the week of high winds, our feet are ITCHY! I nudge El Capitan along for a 8:00 am departure. It's only 20 miles but we like to be anchored in time for lunch and comfortable our anchor is set before dark (We're constantly amazed at the number of people that re-anchor just before sunset. Yikes). Our anchor is close to our friends on s/v Altona II so we back slowly out and swing around as a turtle pops his head up to say goodbye. That's a good start to the day.
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| Emergency big white flappy thing |
A 5 kt diurnal wind allows the genoa to be 1/3 unfurled, if nothing but for a sunshade. Our fishing line is set in 65-80 ft of water and and as we round the southeastern point, St. Thomas comes into sight along with lots of sails. Before the second red buoy, "FISH ON!" I was skeptical and as the line came in he looked tiny. However, as he came up out of the water, he was bigger than he originally looked. "Tuna, my favorite!" He's small but quickly on board. Amelia isn't interested (she prefers her tuna in a can) and it's stowed in the dinghy.
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| Fish on! Whoo hoo! Skipjack Tuna (thanks for the positive identification, Sandy) |
Sailing along, our anemometer shows 8 kts out of the north on the beam reach. It seems more like 15. We'll add that to the list of things that need work when we go up the mast.
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| We're saaaaaiilinngggggg! |
Halfway across the Virgin Passage. 10 miles to Brewer's beach. "Is that a whale? A dolphin? It's big but it's not moving?" {turtle pops his head up}. "Dude! He is huge!"
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| You aren't done anchoring in Brewer's until the resident pelican has "christened" your boat |
Arrived! Anchored in Brewers Bay, St Thomas, USVI--right next to the airport I used to fly into! (No airplanes on approach until we entered the anchorage. We thought we were lost!). This is our first pelican, who landed on the bow to assist with cleaning our fish. "Are you gonna eat that?" Mine!
Summary: Total time 4:06, total mileage 20.2, average speed 4.9 kts (1/3 motor sail, 2/3 motor)
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| Can you see the dolphins in this picture? |
We're privileged to spot the four dolphins that frequent the anchorage, according to a Professor at the University. It's two mama's and two babies. They swam through anchorage, along the beach with babies playing and doing spins. We get asked if we see a lot of dolphins and the answer is "not as many as we would like!" but other cruisers have had better luck.
For a girl from the midwest, today's snorkel was like swimming in the Springfield Bass Pro or Shedd Aquarium saltwater fish tank. A ray (unidentified because he was under the sandy bottom except for eyes & tail), lots of blue fish turning black near coral then turning white over sand (doctorfish?), bottom dwelling (orangespotted?) goby giving me the stink eye, pink big eye blackfin snapper (? Beautiful & my first. Also giving me the stinkeye), lots of speckled black smooth trunkfish, Angelfish, butterfly fish, blue tang, purple & yellow damselfish and one those floating twigs with eyeballs (he was friendly. We hung out for awhile). Couldn't find the resident turtle. We need an underwater camera!
Last year, we anchored downtown in Charlotte Amalie. It's time to learn a new side of the island. It's Monday, so we're up early and dinghy to the beach. Walk to Lindbergh Bay for reconnaissance of the anchorage then along the industrial bay of Krum, then on to Crown Bay Marina. We sign some paperwork at the Mailbox Stop ($30 for 30 days of mail), stop at the AT&T store ($60 for 30 days, 10 GB data, talk & text), swing through the chandlery, then stop at Tickle's restaurant overlooking the marina for a quick refreshment (10:00 am, still serving breakfast!). Grocery, Chinese restaurant for some wifi & shared a beef stir fry ($10 cheapest lunch yet. We'll be back). Safari back to the beach by 1:00 pm.
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| Another beautiful sunset from Brewer's Bay |
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| The Captain patiently waiting while I take pictures |
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| Raven the Dinghy with the anchorage in the background |
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| Dinghy parking with the University dock in the background |
SW wind? WTF?! It's amazing how quickly The Captain can get a swell bridle on in the middle of the night.
#unprotectedanchorage
Sailing tip: Even the most experienced cruisers forget the ocean swell can arrive the night before the forecast wind shift (ie not just us!)
Today, just for fun, we rode the full route on an open-air $1 safari bus the locals use. I loved it. The Captain wasn't a fan. Although the consensus is the locals are some of the best & most courteous drivers in the Caribbean--even though they drive on the wrong side of the road.
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| iRocker SUP in a handy backpack |
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| Unrolled & ready to inflate |
Hey, look what showed up in the mail today! My iRocker SUP! A huge thank you to our friend Wendy on sv Altona II for introducing us to iRocker and to Dale at the Dinghy Dock for buying my kayak.
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| A little bit of a workout to inflate... |
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| The new addition to our crew |
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| Trip #1, getting started |
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| Getting better |
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| Crazy yacht with a slide (note the tender pulling three jet skis) |
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| Getting to know our neighbors. Can you find us? |
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| Beautiful sunset ahead of the squalls |
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| More neighbors |
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| It's a pic of the cat at sunset inspecting the SUP and the new wind generator mount all in one! |
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| Add caption |
As previously mentioned my gadgets have all switched themselves to Espanol (including recently, YouTube ads). Yesterday, The Captain's texts switched themselves to French. Communication is getting interesting! (Did he call me a tard?!)
Mother Nature. She's running the show. The winds have been weird this last week. Trade winds should be out of the east. It's been several days since the cold front clocked through south and west. The forecast was for NE winds this week. However, we're still bobbing around between SE and N! I suspected the wind coming over the island mountain affected the winds in our anchorage/bay along with some current, which other cruisers concurred. However, today, we dinghied around to the south side of the airport to Lindbergh Bay, hoping to relocate. We were surprised (but not totally surprised) that there is a south swell still rolling in, despite the forecast of NE winds. There was only one monohull anchored (bobbing like a cork) & a cat departing! I guess the boat is really swinging to the SE wind!
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| View from the UVI Marine Science dock |
Some days as cruisers, we arrive and happen upon an amazing experience. Other times, we have to stay somewhere long enough to experience something amazing! After deciding not to relocate this morning, we headed into town for some grocery shopping. On the return, as we hopped on the safari, a woman behind us, said "Hurry! Hurry! I have to get to the beach! Are you going to beach? Do you have your snorkel gear?" It turns out she was volunteering with a group from the university to count turtles! When we arrived, she grabbed a bag of groceries and lead us around to the UVI Marine Science dock and introduced us to Steve and John who work at the university! We talked turtles (they've counted 17 in one day!), dolphins (we saw the 4 in the bay yesterday!), rays (yep! Seen em), buoys (They also collect data. Maintenance is contracted out--the one below was getting it's chain scrubbed!), wildlife in the tiny bay behind their dock (all kinds of birds & tarpon), no wake zones (jet skiis are banned. Yeah!) and whether or not you should use a powered sup in the swim zone (NO). They added us to their contact list! (Odin is in the top right)
After getting a better understanding of the operations at the UVI Marine Science dock, we headed out for a snorkel to find some turtles. I saw three and a pufferfish (so well disguised on the bottom, The Captain couldn't see him). We also found a nice sandy spot if we wanted to relocate and confirmed there is a cable coming off the beach per the charts (and also a pipe. Give those buoys a little room!). We returned to the boat all wrinkly. THEN I grabbed the SUP and did a short paddle standing up! I had hope to make it to the swim area but came up a little short. The winds were pretty strong, so I kneeled and floated back home.
Stand by for Part 2, underwater camera pics of Brewer's Bay!
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